Man guilty in Texas teen's death

OREGON CITY -- An illegal immigrant pleaded guilty Tuesday to murdering 15-year-old Dani Countryman in a case that drew national attention to criminal offenders who avoid deportation.

Alejandro Emeterio Rivera Gamboa admitted in Clackamas County Circuit Court that he stepped on Countryman's throat to help subdue her while he and his cousin, also a Mexican national from the Guadalajara area, attempted to rape the girl.

He also pleaded guilty to abuse of a corpse for moving Countryman's body to another apartment.

Countryman died in the early hours of July 28, 2007, after a night of partying at the Balboa Apartments in Milwaukie. The Texas teenager was vacationing in Oregon, visiting her older sister, and planned to return home later that day.

Ashley Countryman, one of the last people to see her sister alive, attended the hearing but declined to comment. Dani Countryman's grandmother, who lives in Texas, listened in by phone.

According to the terms of a plea bargain, Rivera Gamboa will be sentenced to life in prison. He must serve at least 35 years before he is eligible for parole and faces deportation.

The other defendant, Javier "Gabe" Arellano Gamboa, will go to trial in January. Rivera Gamboa will be sentenced after his cousin's trial.

Rivera Gamboa responded to questions from Judge Kim Frankel so quietly he could not be heard five feet away.

"I just want to apologize for what happened," said Rivera Gamboa, who spoke through an interpreter.

During the discussions, Rivera Gamboa "expressed what I believe to be real remorse," said Frankel, who supervised the plea negotiations. "I realize that doesn't fix anything."

When Frankel asked whether he put his foot on Countryman's neck and strangled her, Rivera Gamboa said, "It was an accident what happened because I was drunk."

Rivera Gamboa said that while he wanted to have sex with Countryman, "I didn't force her." But he also admitted that he restrained her as she struggled and resisted the sexual assault.

Frankel told him the events that led to the girl's death were not an accident. "She's a very little girl. Small. She'd been drinking," Frankel said.

Those demanding a crackdown on illegal immigration cited Dani Countryman's murder as an example of the consequences of lax border control and immigration policy. They were further outraged when they learned that Rivera Gamboa had been in police custody nine months before the killing and admitted he was in the United States illegally.

The Oregonian reported that Rivera Gamboa pleaded guilty to two counts of drunken driving in November 2006. He signed a plea agreement that stated he was not a U.S. citizen and was released without anyone in the criminal justice system notifying immigration authorities.

After the newspaper report, Clackamas County changed its policies. At each stop of the law-and-order process -- jail, prosecution and probation -- the county now reports foreign-born non-U.S. citizens to immigration authorities. Others who arouse suspicion -- no Social Security number, no permanent address and inability to speak English -- may also be flagged for review.